Unit 6: Plate Tectonics

4. German scientist who proposed the theory of continental drift
5. all of the continents on Earth used to be joined as one giant landmass and have since slowly drifted to their current locations
6. a depression of the earth's surface in which an ocean lies
8. the location where one tectonic plate come in contact with another
11. the process in Earth’s mantle that scientists believe is driving the movement of the plates due to the heating and cooling of magma
15. a mountain from which lava, ash, and hot gases flow or are ejected during an eruption
16. an event that occurs when tension built up along Earth’s plates is released
18. the deepest parts of the ocean floor
20. the type of plate boundary where two plates slide past each other
22. a curved chain of volcanic islands
23. the type of plate boundary where two plates collide
25. the most common types of rock that make up oceanic crust
26. the type of plate boundary where two plates separate or divide

1. states that in undisturbed rock layers, the oldest rocks are at the bottom and younger rocks are at the top
2. has had an eruption of magnitude 8 on the Volcano Explosivity Index (VEI)
3. the process that occurs when one plate sinks beneath another plate because it is more dense
7. thick part of Earth’s crust that forms the landmasses
9. occurs in the middle of a plate, where magma rises upward until it erupts on the seafloor
10. an underwater mountain range, formed by the movement of plates
12. the most common types of rock that make up continental crust
13. an area of land that rises very high above the land around it
14. a fracture or break in the rocks that make up Earth’s crust
17. a lowland region that forms where Earth's tectonic plates move apart
19. supercontinent that included all current land masses before they split apart
21. the process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed
24. thin part of Earth’s crust under oceans and seas